100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 157: Prometheus Ball IV

Escape Room, Annecy France

Sam looked at the watch in her hand, "30minutes" she informed him. They only have 15 minutes remaining to get out of there, and the tension showed in both their faces as they stared at the image. There was nothing there; it was just some kind of creative art combining a variety, or composite, of different styles. It was leaning more on an abstract, with odd shapes, and colours with no actual logic or explanation behind. Levi hated it, it didn’t make sense---there was nothing to deduce there, at least he can’t see what they were supposed to discover, but he knew they had to figure it out. He hated losing after all.

"Fragments", Sam muttered to herself.

"Aaah!" Sam exclaimed out of the blue, "do you see it!?" She asked. Levi looked at her, confused, "What?" "The fragments! It’s just like Michael Scott’s case. It’s a cut out--made to become unrecognizable or abstract." she said.

Levi narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of the illogical design "What am I looking for exactly?" he asked, "Eliminate all the primary colours." she said, and slowly his eyes dawned in realization. He can now see what she saw, in his mind, each shape and pieces shifted around to create a logical pattern, like a sliding puzzle he could see: the image forming numbers.

He broke into a broad smile and punched the number in the vault, causing it to pop open. Levi pulled it entirely, and he went down the tiny stairs first, assisting her as she went down the stairs barefoot.

"The cypher was my favourite part," she said, walking down after him. "You have to explain that." He said. "Oh, it’s called Infinitum Cipher, it’s a combination of cyphers the possibilities are pretty much endless," she said.

"28minutes--not half bad," Levi said, walking through the tunnel, offering his hand to her since she had one hand holding the end of her dress. She placed her arm in his knowing the possibility of her tripping and making a fool of herself.

The two walked and reached the end of the tunnel, holding hands--receiving applause from everyone.

"28mins 53seconds. Impressive Dr. Gray & Mr. Jackson." Prof. Morris complimented. "So far, only 13% of the teams made it; and you two are on top of the leaderboard." The Professor added gesturing to the Digital Leaderboard.

.....

2 hours later, Townhouse

"You are upset with me," Levi observed, trailing behind her as she walked in the Townhouse they were staying in. Sam removed her heels, remaining silent, conscious of her rising temper. She wouldn’t want to say something she might regret, just because she was clouded with anger.

Just 2 hours ago, they were having the best time; crushing Escape Room challenge, seeing body parts function, learning how to shrink heads and sitting in the front seat of a fresh carcass getting blown up behind the protective glass. Not to forget they danced the Waltz.

She pulled Levi to the dance floor, and the psychologist feigned irritation while Sam just smiled at him, knowing full well he enjoyed dancing.

Who would have thought?

2 hours ago, Prometheus Ball

Sam and Levi held onto each other as they danced in familiar steps, practised steps--something that they had been doing since she discovered his fondness of it.

The redhead couldn’t help but smile, as they swayed gracefully with the music, the people around them blurring as he twirled her around playfully. "Stop smiling", he said, looking at her stretched ruby lips. What he found annoying was that he had started noticing that whenever she did smile, his lips couldn’t help but mirror hers. Sam’s eyes widened at his comment, "What?! I’m happy!" She said, grinning up at him. The corner of his lips curled, "Because?" He asked curiously.

She rolled her eyes at him, "We won!" she exclaimed, but in truth, she was happy for several reasons. She was pleased he was having a good time, something that was evident on his chiselled face and the fact that he only complained thrice that night.

’It was a record! Can’t wait to tell Marco.’

They moved in sync with the music, light on their feet. "Better." Levi complimented, causing her to smile. He had been patiently teaching her how to dance in his flat, and many times Mrs. Whitehall had smiled fondly at them. "I’m a fast study", Sam replied smugly, she was. Levi arched his brow at her, "And I thought your teacher taught you well." He retorted.

"Nah, the teacher was okay." Sam teased, causing him to scoff.

"You two look lovely together." Prof. Morris said, waltzing beside them with his partner. Sam and Levi turned to look at him, both smiling. Until something sank in Sam, ’You two look lovely together’, was precisely what Mrs. Whitehall said weeks ago. The redhead’s face contorted in slight discomfort as she did then. She liked dancing with Levi, the feel of his hand resting at the small of her back, his other hand holding hers felt right.

The soft flowing movements between them. The familiarity of it all, the security, the safety she never felt before—the trust.

And there it was again; the fear came crashing against her like big tidal waves, making her cower within the safety of her own shell mentally.

Levi noticed how her expression changed drastically. "Problem?" He asked, concerned seeing her obvious discomfort. She faked a smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. "These heels are killing me." She lied by saying something truthful, and he fell for it, or at least she thought he did. He escorted her out of the dance floor, his hand dwarfing hers in his.

Seconds later he excused himself, disappearing to the men’s room after he had ushered her to a seat.

Sam walked towards the large windows, looking at the most beautiful view in Annecy. The Lake shimmered under the moonlight, making her smile. It was such a good night, and she wondered---what could make it perfect.

He turned back to look at the other guest, her eyes scanning the crowd. One man caught her attention. She hadn’t noticed him before, but he was looking right at her. The stranger raised his glass in a toast, smiling at her, she smiled and raised her glass in response. Seconds later she watched him walk towards her, that was all it took, and the two flirted.

’Yes, he would make that night perfect.’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

This man may be her form of release.

...

Present, Townhouse

Levi studied the redhead, "You’re subconsciously clenching your jaw and balling your fists. You are obviously angry enough to want to hit me." he said as Sam made her way to her bedroom, stopping in the hallway the second he continued with his observations.

She turned hands shaking beside her, she can be destructive when forced to, and she did want to hit him for being like that. Parts of her knew he was doing it on purpose too, and that angered her the most. He had sabotaged her many times, Why!? She didn’t know, and she didn’t give a damn.

"You anal twat!" She spat, gritting her teeth, and honestly, she knew it’s not that much of an insult. But it felt right coming out of her mouth. She took a step towards him, "You did it on purpose! Admit it!" She accused him.

He frowned, feigning ignorance, and he was good at it too. She almost fell for it, but she knew better.

"You had been sabotaging every effort I made to---have bloody sex." She admitted, and his eyes hardened. He had an inkling that one of the reasons she wanted to attend the ball was to find herself a new ’associate’ as she prefers to address them.

And she was right, of course, he had been sabotaging every effort she made in the past to have any ’extracurricular activities’.

The first time was at Guy’s, when a visiting Physician came by, Sam can’t recall his name, and she honestly could care less about it, but he looked like Superman--and who wouldn’t sleep with Superman? And out of nowhere, the blond Irishman walked in, greeting her in the hallway by kissing her cheek, pretending he does it regularly which was far from the truth. Simply put, the doctor was put off, realizing she was in a relationship.

The second was a guy in a pub. It was Friday, and she was craving a pint, and she decided to visit her regular pub, Alex working on the bar as usual. The man sitting a few seats away from her reminded her of the God of thunder. Blond, blue-eyed, with a sculpted physique, making him seem like a living work of art. Truly drool-worthy.

Then she doesn’t know how, but the Irishman walked in with Marco half an hour later, saying they were having a pint in the same pub she was in. ’Thor,’ graciously moved away after the slicked blond tapped his shoulder and said, "Mind if I take that seat next to my girlfriend?"

Then there was a detective inspector, a fellow forensic pathologist, a lawyer---but to no success. The dry spell continued, and she’d been in painful celibacy for almost a year now.

Exercises had not been working. She had tried swimming 4x a week and running 3x. And since their little ’incident’ in the Reunion, that bloody kiss... things had not been the same to her. It felt like there was suddenly a door in her mind that she’d never walk into, and she is filled with a strong yearning to open it. But every time she makes a move to reach for the knob, fear envelopes her, and she couldn’t help but back away.